diff --git a/cfg/cfg_struct.h b/cfg/cfg_struct.h
index 452bb90923d..6436eed6776 100644
--- a/cfg/cfg_struct.h
+++ b/cfg/cfg_struct.h
@@ -129,6 +129,7 @@ typedef struct _cfg_block {
 	atomic_t	refcnt;		/*!< reference counter,
 					the block is automatically deleted
 					when it reaches 0 */
+	int		_pad;		/*!< force 8 byte alignment */
 	unsigned char	vars[1];	/*!< blob that contains the values */
 } cfg_block_t;